Stovepipe Damper System

Abstract

A wood stove damper assembly includes a damper plate, a through shaft, and a cross shaft. The damper plate includes a plurality of risers and a plurality of through shaft guides. The through shaft includes a bore and the cross shaft is configured to engage the bore and the risers. The cross shaft is inserted through the bore in the through shaft such that the cross shaft engages the risers when installed. The damper assembly also includes a fastener applied to the end of the through shaft. When installed in a chimney pipe, the fastener is tightened to pull the through shaft, which pulls the cross shaft against the risers, which pulls the edge of the damper plate against the interior of the chimney pipe to hold the damper plate in any position. Methods for manufacturing and installing a damper assembly are also disclosed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 728,527, filed on Nov. 20, 2012 by the same inventor and entitled “Stovepipe Damper System”, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates generally to dampers, and more particularly to dampers for stovepipes of wood stoves.[0004]2. Description of the Background Art[0005]A prior art stovepipe damper includes a damper blade, a through shaft, and a coil spring. The through shaft has a handle and a U-shaped portion that engages the damper blade. The spring exerts a force between the outside of the stovepipe and the handle which maintains the engagement between the U-shaped portion and the damper blade and also maintains the damper blade in the damping position set by a user.[0006]Prior art stovepipe dampers suffer some serious drawbacks. Over time,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a wood stove damper that is resistant to failure caused by heat cycle fatigue. The invention ensures that the damper stays engaged with the chimney pipe, preventing it from opening without the user's knowledge and potentially causing an unsafe condition or wasting heat. The damper assembly is also robust, reusable, and has a long life.

Problems solved by technology

Prior art stovepipe dampers suffer some serious drawbacks.

These heat cycles cause the spring to relax (and sometimes totally fail) such that the force applied by the spring between the handle and the stovepipe is insufficient to keep the damper blade in the set position and / or to keep the U-shaped portion of the through shaft engaged with the damper blade.

The open damper blade can cause an extremely hot fire in the stove, which in turn, can result in a chimney fire.

Images